Catching up all the latest video software and hardware news (here's part one):
20% off Adobe upgrades
If you have a previous version of Adobe Creative Suite, until the end of the year Adobe is offering 20% off CS5.5 upgrades. I've actually been making do with CS5, but thanks to CS5.5's native RED support I'm about to take advantage of this upgrade discount myself. It's valid for suites as well as single software licenses for video-relevant titles like After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop (use this link and click through; your 20% discount will be reflected in the shopping cart).
LomoKino Analog Super35mm Camera
"Bringing analogue back to the movies with a bang in the 21st century, the LomoKino is a Lomography movie camera that shoots short, creative movies on 35mm film." That's right, just as the last motion picture film cameras roll off the lines, Lomography introduces the LomoKino, a 144-frame analog film-shooting device:
Matrox Mojito MAX I/O and h.264 encoding card
This $995 PCIe card looks interesting -- it's got plenty of connectivity, including SDI, HDMI, component, genlock, and digital and analog (XLR) audio. It's also an h.264 encoding accelerator (up to 5X speed, they claim), a realtime monitoring aid, and features Matrox RT which is GPU-like acceleration for Adobe Premiere Pro (I wonder if it can work in conjunction with CUDA?). Seems like a lot of handy functionality: Matrox Mojito MAX.
ShrinkRay X Tilt/Shift plugin for FCPX
The Crumblepop ShrinkRay X plugin lets you mimic tilt/shift lens effects in post-production. Normally $75, it's free this week:
B&H Photo Canon DSLR Rebates
B&H Photo has a number of rebates on Canon DSLRs expiring November 23rd, click through if you're in the market:
Switronix TorchLED BOLT
Switronix released their latest on-camera light, the TorchLED BOLT. "The TorchLED Bolt gives a genuine 200 watt light output (7300lux at 2ft, and 3800lux at 1m), with the brightness and throw (40 to 50 feet) of an actual Halogen light in LED form. For event vidoegraphers, DLSR video production and more, The TorchLED Bolt serves as not only an on-camera lighting solution but can be positioned on a light stand for use as "sun gun". The Bolt includes a 1/4-20 Swivel Shoe mount, powertap cable, snap-on filter tray, diffusion filter and bag."
Zacuto Canon C300 Rigs
Zacuto got the jump on the new Canon EOS C300 with a number of rigs, announced months before the camera will hit the street:
Kickstarter: Modogrip
The Modogrip is a $199 set of wheels and hardware that turns a monopod into a portable, rolling dolly:
Celtx Shots
Free screenwriting software makers Celtx released Celtx Shots, a $4.99 storyboarding app for the iPad. The features:
- Create and edit multi-sequence, multi-shot storyboards.
- Block camera, lighting, talent, and equipment setups.
- Create storyboards and sketches linked to scripts imported from Celtx Sync.
- Import and export projects through iTunes.
- Import images into storyboards directly from Photos or Camera.
- View storyboard and blocking animatics with the built-in player.
- Resize, rotate and flip storyboard images in-app.
- Email edited image files.
- Email sketches as PNG, PDF or SVG files.
- Get started with 81 pre-installed clip art images for set blocking. Purchase additional Art Packs in-app.
iClapperBoard for iPad 2
There are some disadvantages to using an iPad as a slate, so perhaps this hybrid approach makes sense? The iClapperBoard is a $165 wooden case for the iPad2 that allows for physical sticks to operate in conjunction with an app:
DISCLOSURE: Zacuto is a NFS sponsor.
